Victoria/Fraser Valley – The Province is providing 22 communities with a total of $909,000 through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) to develop and update plans, such as for the identification and capacity of available routes and methods of evacuation, and local emergency-alerting systems that provide information to people in the event of an emergency.
“Local governments and First Nations have been looking for support to update evacuation route plans, and funding like this will help to ensure that evacuation plans are up to date and clearly communicated to the public,” said Trish Mandewo, president, Union of British Columbia Municipalities. “Supporting local governments to do this type of planning ahead of time will strengthen our ability to keep people safe when emergencies occur.”
The Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) is administered through the Union of British Columbia Municipalities and funds projects that support First Nations and local governments to better prepare for disasters and reduce risks from hazards in a changing climate.
Local governments and First Nations throughout British Columbia will receive $909,000 from the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund through the Public Notification and Evacuation Route Planning stream as follows:
Chawathil First Nation – Evacuation route planning and mutual aid exercise
Amount: $29,800
Fraser Valley Regional District – Evacuation plan for the Hemlock Valley neighbourhood
Amount: $30,000
Harrison Hot Springs – Evacuation planning
Amount: $22,850
Leq’a:mel First Nation –Evacuation route planning
Amount: $28,500
Mission – Evacuation route and public notification plan
Amount: $29,500
For information about the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund:
https://www.ubcm.ca/cepf
For information about disaster- and climate-risk reduction, visit ClimateReadyBC:
https://www.ClimateReadyBC.ca
To learn about the Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy:
http://www.gov.bc.ca/BC-Adapts